


Day 8- Crowd

by Broken_Clover



Series: Autistic Creative Challenge 2019 [8]
Category: BlazBlue
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Autistic Creative Challenge, F/F, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: Celica is usually good at staying composed, but she doesn't fare well in crowds.





	Day 8- Crowd

Celica’s relationships with other people have always been complicated. She has always been incredibly empathetic, with the desire to help others and alleviate their pain with her magic. At the same time, she struggled to form many true friendships with other people. She would gladly care for others as a parent of sorts, but aside from Konoe, it was rare that she felt like she had many real friends.

She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Minerva the first time they had met. Celica had greeted the doll politely, as she did with everyone. Minerva may have been peculiar, but she was still owed manners.

Though their meeting had ultimately been orchestrated by Kokonoe, Celica had felt genuinely touched by Minerva looking after her. Maybe Minerva guiding her and keeping a close eye on her hadn’t been a fully organic interaction, the little smiles and reassuring hands that the robot left on her shoulder certainly felt meaningful.

Her relationship with Minerva may have been a bit peculiar, but Celica could say with confidence that she genuinely loved her with all her heart, even if others didn’t see Minerva the way she did. Soft-spoken, gentle, and caring, with an undercurrent of wit. Bonding with Minerva had been all too easy, and before she knew it, Celica had found herself fostering a requited crush for her. Just thinking about Minerva made her smile.

She desperately tried holding that image in her mind as she was swamped with bodies on all sides, threatening to drown her.

To an outsider’s perspective, it was a normal Kagutsuchi rush-hour of people heading to work. Celica had been planning to take Minerva out to buy her something cute, maybe a little ribbon or a scarf at one of the shops. Without really paying attention, she had wound up separated from Minerva, and gotten stuck in the glut of people rushing by.

For the most part, Celica had gotten very experienced in knowing her limits and not forcing herself too hard. She didn’t like the term ‘high-functioning,’ but if she kept herself calm and collected, hardly anybody could guess that she was autistic just by looking at her. The crowd currently surrounding her was far more than she was prepared to handle, though, with all the noises and scents and people brushing up against her when it was hard enough just getting enough air.

“M-Minerva-” She called out weakly, in the hope that she could be heard. Celica clasped hands over her ears in a feeble attempt to block out the noise. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut to make all the blurring colors away, but if she couldn’t see, then she knew she had little hope in finding her way out of the crowd.

She wasn’t used to feeling this overwhelmed. It was peculiar. She had been in much more dire circumstances and remained calm, but now she was in a practically harmless scenario and still almost ready to have a meltdown right on the spot. What would Konoe say?

Celica felt something nudge against her back, forceful. She bit back a distressed cry, but the sensation continued until it scooped her right up off the ground.

“Minerva…?” She found herself looking up into a familiar pair of red eyes, expression forever-calm but with a hint of worry and distress hidden in it. With as tall as she was, the automaton was easily able to lift her above the crowd line as she waded through.

While the larger set of arms carefully supported her, Celica watched as the smaller arms slipped out. One gently stroked a tear-stained cheek, and the other reached down to grip one of her own hands comfortingly.

Before she knew it, the sounds of the crowd had begun to fade in the distance. Minerva had found some empty field out aways from all the people, and sat down on the grass. She kept Celica in her grip, issuing a low, soothing hum of a song for her to focus on while she calmed down.

It took Celica a while to find her bearings again. As soon as she did, she reached up and wrapped her arms around her partner, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you.”


End file.
